Vandals smash their way into Olympic village homes on Portland (From Dorset Echo)
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Vandals smash their way into Olympic village homes on Portland
10:00am Monday 29th October 2012 in Local News By Rachael Burnett
VANDAL ATTACK: The damage to one of the door frames
TWO youths aged 14 and 16 have been arrested after vandals smashed their way into homes at the Olympic Village on Portland causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.
Damage was caused to buildings in the award-winning Officers Field development, which housed hundreds of athletes and officials during the Games.
They are now empty and waiting to be sold.
A number of properties under construction on Castle Road were targeted and although nothing was taken, the offenders caused extensive damage to the outside of the buildings.
Two youths aged 14 and 16 have been arrested in connection with the offence and released on bail. Police are now appealing for information from the community.
Craig Bates, project manager for developer ZeroC, said it was a ‘malicious and mindless’ crime.
He said: “Four or five of our properties were targeted, the burglars tried to force open the front doors and garage doors.
“They didn’t manage to get inside because the houses have been built so securely.
“The doors were damaged in the process, some of the frames had been crowbarred.
“It’s mindless and there’s nothing worth breaking in for because the houses are empty.
“I think it was malicious and they were trying to break in to do more damage.”
Mr Bates added: “We want to see the culprits brought to justice.
“We would appreciate any assistance from the public that would help the police and lead to a successful prosecution.
“The total cost of the damage is around £6,000 and now there will be a time delay for the development.”
PC Steve Morris of Portland police said: “I am appealing for anyone who may have seen this incident take place, or may have information regarding those involved to contact police as soon as possible. This callous crime has caused an untold amount of disruption to the building firm working on the site.
“They have not only had to foot the bill to repair the damage, but have also had to pay for security to guard the site until March.”
Portland Mayor Councillor Sylvia Bradley said: “This has been a positive project for the island and it’s absolutely disgusting that someone has done this.
“It’s ridiculous and disgusting to break into any building, whether someone is in it or not.”
Anyone with information about the attack is urged to telephone Dorset Police on 101 quoting incident number 18:414 or alternatively call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Olympic Project Scooped A Top Accolade
ZeroC’s Officers Field development at Osprey Quay, Portland won the prestigious Housing Project of the Year award at the Building Awards 2012.
The Building Awards are considered to be the ‘Oscars’ of the construction industry.
Dorchester-based ZeroC completed the build of the 77 homes at Officers Field, Osprey Quay, earlier this year and leased the homes to the London 2012 Olympics to be used as the athlete’s village for the Olympic sailing events.
More than 600 athletes and officials were housed in the village for both the main Olympic events and the Paralympics.
Now the Olympics are finished, 19 of the houses are being transferred to Magna Housing Association and the remaining 59 are being sold privately.
Details of the homes that are still available can be found on the Officers Field website officersfield.com
Comments(15)
Weyexile
says...
10:43am Mon 29 Oct 12
What's the going rate for vandals these days then?
DickDastardly
says...
11:31am Mon 29 Oct 12
GMax
says...
12:58pm Mon 29 Oct 12
DickDastardly wrote:Not just name and shame them, make sure that THEY pay for the damage.
Start naming and shaming the parents of these Chavs.
.
GMax.
Islandjim
says...
12:59pm Mon 29 Oct 12
On the plus side its nice that the secure by design standards of the development have been properly tested! If only they had been educated in a drafty old MOD building with bad access out Southwell, in open plan classrooms this never would have happened!
JamesYoung
says...
1:54pm Mon 29 Oct 12
DickDastardly wrote:If you watched the documentary "Exposure" recently, which looked at trouble on a Grimsby estate, you'll be well aware that some of the parents think that victims of anti social behaviour and petty crime are entirely responsible, because they complain when they are targeted.
Start naming and shaming the parents of these Chavs.
portland rebel
says...
7:37pm Mon 29 Oct 12
Dave Aitch
says...
9:57pm Mon 29 Oct 12
jenroy
says...
10:49pm Mon 29 Oct 12
live. especially in Weymouth.
Islandjim
says...
8:42am Tue 30 Oct 12
jbennett75060 wrote:It all depends on what your view of affordable is. £245,000 for a 3 bed house defiantly isn't mine. On Portland you can pick up 4 bed Victorian terraces with fair gardens for £100,000 less than that. Obviously all down to personal preference at the end of the day, if you can afford to pay the new build premium and want hassle free living for a few years then i can see the lure of this kind off development. Its always interesting to see how developments like this age, wait until the render and stone gets abit grubby, the painted timber windows get tatty, people start parking where they want and the place gets that lived in/social housing look.
Dave Aitch wrote:Dave, I believe that is correct. Not sure why people have to moan so much about the development to be honest.
My understanding is that the area previously occupied by the athletes dining area marquee, is to be restored as a playing field. Just have to wait and see.
The playing field will still be a fair size, and the development provides affordable housing to the local area; I am buying a house here and currently live in Weymouth, I saved up for the deposit for 4+ years and found it a major struggle to find any house I could afford with good size rooms, allocated parking and a fair garden prior to this development.
Furthermore, 75% of the houses will be privately owned with a monthly maintenance fee to keep the area looking nice...and hopefully they are selective about the people that get social housing at Officers Field. I cannot see it being a "Shameless" affair.
portland rebel
says...
11:14am Tue 30 Oct 12
Dave Aitch wrote:that was the original agreement but i believe that they are now planning to build on that to, and compared to the rest of the island they are non affordable.
My understanding is that the area previously occupied by the athletes dining area marquee, is to be restored as a playing field. Just have to wait and see.
Islandjim
says...
12:15pm Tue 30 Oct 12
portland rebel wrote:Just interested to know where you have gained this believed information from, its all to often Portland residents falls foul of rumors and untruths and as a result completely miss whats actually happening! Although i'm not a fan of the development I have not seen or heard anything that suggests any additional planning permissions have been granted or even considered with regards to the playing field?
Dave Aitch wrote:that was the original agreement but i believe that they are now planning to build on that to, and compared to the rest of the island they are non affordable.
My understanding is that the area previously occupied by the athletes dining area marquee, is to be restored as a playing field. Just have to wait and see.
jbennett75060
says...
7:41pm Tue 30 Oct 12
Islandjim wrote:"It all depends on what your view of affordable is. £245,000 for a 3 bed house defiantly isn't mine. On Portland you can pick up 4 bed Victorian terraces with fair gardens for £100,000 less than that."
jbennett75060 wrote:It all depends on what your view of affordable is. £245,000 for a 3 bed house defiantly isn't mine. On Portland you can pick up 4 bed Victorian terraces with fair gardens for £100,000 less than that. Obviously all down to personal preference at the end of the day, if you can afford to pay the new build premium and want hassle free living for a few years then i can see the lure of this kind off development. Its always interesting to see how developments like this age, wait until the render and stone gets abit grubby, the painted timber windows get tatty, people start parking where they want and the place gets that lived in/social housing look.
Dave Aitch wrote:Dave, I believe that is correct. Not sure why people have to moan so much about the development to be honest.
My understanding is that the area previously occupied by the athletes dining area marquee, is to be restored as a playing field. Just have to wait and see.
The playing field will still be a fair size, and the development provides affordable housing to the local area; I am buying a house here and currently live in Weymouth, I saved up for the deposit for 4+ years and found it a major struggle to find any house I could afford with good size rooms, allocated parking and a fair garden prior to this development.
Furthermore, 75% of the houses will be privately owned with a monthly maintenance fee to keep the area looking nice...and hopefully they are selective about the people that get social housing at Officers Field. I cannot see it being a "Shameless" affair.
Fair point, but compared to the prices in Weymouth I found the purchase price to be quite reasonable. I opted for a 2 bedroom house prior to the Olympics @ 150k (included 10k discount). I was hunting all over the place and didn't find many houses in Weymouth for that, without requiring quite a bit of work to get it up to the standard I am looking for.
I don't have buckets of money, and getting a fresh canvas with new kitchen (including appliances), bathroom etc was very appealing.
The last time I visited Officers Field I was informed that the remainder of the playing field will be restored, and they was laying the turf when I looked last week. I doubt they will build on this as well, the school uses the field during the day as well..
robtheunred
says...
2:13pm Fri 2 Nov 12
Members' of the Friends' of Victoria Gardens have been highlighting the endemic vandalism prevalent in the park for years.
This vandalism continued even during the Olympics when heavy security was visible at the Olympic site.
Now this vandalism has spread across the road. It is good to see that arrests have been made now that property is being damaged, hopefully the community will respond
in a positive way.
Warren Roof
says...
8:16pm Wed 21 Nov 12
maximan says...
10:24am Mon 29 Oct 12